March 23, 2012

Milestones

Life has been quiet since driving south to the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood at the end of February, but it's starting to liven up again. The last few days have involved a few milestones.

Milestone #1: Returning the Drive Performance WRX to Subaru

Next week, I leave Milwaukee to meet Subaru Road Racing Team at Barber Motorsports Park near Leeds, Alabama. I'll drive the DP WRX through the weekend, then meet with other Drive Performance staff members who will swap cars with me. They'll take the DP WRX, and I'll have a pre-production BRZ for approximately 48 hours for a test drive. I don't plan on getting much sleep.

We've already shipped to Subaru all the original parts that we took off the DP WRX -- exhaust pipe and mufflers, rear deck lid, rear interior shelf, shift knob, nuts, bolts, and various other items.

From our publishing base in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we've been all over the country with the car -- Maine, Florida, Alabama, Michigan, Utah, and everywhere in between. It will have almost 40,000 miles on the odometer -- not too bad for having been driven on only 18 major trips and being stored most of the time.

I'll turn over both sets of keys somewhere near Roanoke, Virginia.

We'll let you know where it's going as soon as we know!

Milestone #2: Production Begins on the BRZ

Last week, the first production BRZ models came off the assembly line at the Subaru Gunma Main Plant, Ota-city, Gunma Prefecture, Japan.

On March 17, SIA kicked off a year of events commemorating its 25th anniversary of incorporation. SIA, the home of North American Subaru production, assembles Legacy, Outback, and Tribeca models.

For more about SIA's 25th, including an open house in July, click here.

Milestone #4: STI Prepares Subaru BRZ GT300 for SUPER GT

The first round of Japan's SUPER GT season takes place March 31-April 1 at Okayama International Circuit, Mimasaka city, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. In preparation for the season, the Subaru BRZ GT300 race car participated in testing two weeks earlier. For more, click here.